Jelly Roll is quite frankly on a roll after winning three categories at the 2023 CMT Music Awards.

The three awards he won were: Male Video of the Year, Breakthrough Male Video of the Year, and CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year for “Son of a Sinner.”

But Jelly Roll’s path from Antioch neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee, to country stardom hasn’t been the easiest.

Here are eight facts you might not know about the singer:

1. He received his nickname from his mom. Jelly Roll shared that his stage name came from his mother at a young age. He says he was a “chubby kid” and the name just stuck ever since.
2. He has served time in prison. Before Jelly Roll made it big as a musician, he was in and out of prison. He was convicted of robbery as a teen, and later when he was 21 he was charged with possession with intent to distribute. Jelly Roll has been really open about the struggles he faced with addiction, he admitted to using cough syrup, Xanax, and cocaine.
3. He loves Waffle House. In an interview in 2013, Jelly Roll shared that he had eaten at least hundreds/thousands of times at Waffle House. Jelly Roll says he gets the same thing every time which is: scrambled eggs with cheese, wheat toast, hash browns, side of sausage, and a chocolate chip waffle. In 2013 Jelly Roll actually used the company’s name and logo for his mixtape “Whiskey, Weed & Waffle House.” But the chain wasn’t a fan of that, so they sent him a cease-and-desist letter.
4. He is greatly influenced by Johnny Cash and Jim Croce. In an interview with Taste of Country in 2022, Jelly Roll said Johnny Cash, Jim Croce, James Taylor, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and even Three 6 Mafia as some of his musical influences. “[I] love the old outlaw stuff,” he said. “Those are probably the guys who really molded my style and sound.”
5. He was engaged and married in the same night. At a Deftones and Yelawolf concert in Las Vegas on August 31, 2016 Jelly Roll proposed to his wife Bunnie Xo. Jelly Roll said he went on to the stage to pop the question, and said they were both drunk and later that same night they went to a courthouse to get married.
6. He has both a rock and country No.1 song. “Son of a Sinner” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in January. Another single named “Dead Man Walking” hit the Mainstream Chart in 2021.
7. He’s performed a duet with his daughter.  One of Jelly Roll’s most popular songs, “Tears Could Talk,” has over 17 million views on YouTube, but most importantly it features his daughter! Bailee Ann DeFord, 14, is Jelly Roll’s child from his ex Felicia. He learned of Baliee Ann’s birth while in prison, and he said that is what turned his life around. Bunnie and Jelly Roll gained custody of Bailee Ann in 2016. He also has a 6-year-old son, Noah Buddy DeFord, but has not spoken publicly about Noah’s mother.
8. He set a Billboard record for emerging artists. Jelly Roll hit No.1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart on February 11th, which was his 25th week at the top of the rankings. That set a record for the chart’s seven-year history, which passed NLE Choppa’s 24-week run across 2019-2020.

Photo: Reuters

Source: Biography